Hornbills, like many bird species, have their own needs when it comes to enrichment. Diane Longenecker, who is the Senior Keeper-Birds at ABQ BioPark-Rio Grande Zoo in Albuquerque, NM, approached Otto Environmental about creating unique enrichment devices that utilize natural Abyssinian Hornbill behavior.

Otto Environmental owner and Senior Enrichment Designer, Jeff Otto, has now designed two different enrichment devices for Hornbills: the Hornbill Forage Tube and the Hornbill Forager. Watch Maybelline, the Abyssinian Hornbill, enjoy working for her meal as she explores the depths of the Forage Tube.

While initially made for Hornbills, these unique feeders can provide many opportunities for enrichment of many large avian species.

The Forage Tube’s spinning drum is made of heavy duty fabric, with slats in which to hide food and treats. It is adjustable, so the openings can be sized appropriately for the needs of the bird. It includes an eye-bolt for hanging high or low. It measures 23″ long and 7.5″ in diameter (58cm x 19cm). Go to our online store to see more or to purchase.

Here is a closer look at the purchases and donated items visitors on Animal Enrichment Day 2016 made on behalf of the animals at the Milwaukee County Zoo. We would like to again thank all those who visited us at the Otto Environmental booth to learn about animal enrichment and especially those of you who made donations of enrichment items to the Zoo.

If you would still like to donate through Otto Environmental to our partners at the Milwaukee County Zoo, please call us at 414-529-7780 to see how you can help.

Saturday, June 11, 2016, was a beautiful, sunny day with mild temperatures. That made it even better spending the day at the Milwaukee County Zoo’s Animal Enrichment Day. Our Otto Environmental team was there helping to educate visitors at one of the nation’s premier zoos about the science (and sometimes the art) of animal enrichment.

Animal enrichment is defined as, “a dynamic process for enhancing animal environments within the context of the animals’ behavioral biology and natural history” by The Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Animal care staff at the Milwaukee County Zoo feel that enhancing the welfare of the animals under their care is of primary importance. Over the past years Otto Environmental has worked with the zookeepers of the Milwaukee County Zoo to develop unique and safe products, like the Elephant Drum, to keep their minds healthy and active, in an environment that is more natural for them.

During the day we spoke with lots of people about the great work being done at the Zoo, many of whom donated to the Zoo for animal enrichment items to be purchased later by the zookeepers.

How things are made can be fascinating to most people, so we thought you might want to see how some of our own exclusive Otto Environmental’s animal enrichment items are produced – right here in the USA! Many of our most fun and creatively designed toys are made of colorful thermoplastic, injection molded here in Southeastern Wisconsin, and ready to stand up to amazingly extreme punishment from a host of various animal species, from canine to primate.

Click on an image below to go to our online store and find out more about some of the most durable and unique enrichment items you’ll ever see.

One of our favorite things is to get creative when our local zookeeper friends need a solution for a particularly “sticky” animal enrichment issue. See what we mean in this video we shot at the Milwaukee County Zoo.

While we offer existing solutions for animal enrichment of all kinds, we also welcome requests for custom solutions. Contact us and we’ll help find something in our vast stock or we may be able to develop something special for your needs.

Spring-loaded, made from stainless steel with washable plastic end caps, the Versa-Rod is a simple and extremely versatile device designed to improve enrichment for all small rodents.

The video below shows some of the ways you can use this new, exclusive item from Otto Environmental.

Adding one or more Versa-Rods to your mouse, gerbil, or hamster cage can provide many opportunities for not only basic climbing enrichment, but for behavior control, to hang instruments for testing and toys for more advanced play. 7 1/2″ long.

Animal enrichment has never been better at Otto Environmental, with new products being added all the time. Visit our online store often to find many unique enrichment items, in-stock and ready to ship.

Caging and equipment is our other area of expertise, with loads of solutions for small to medium size animals. We even offer custom solutions when something other than what we have in-stock is called for.

Finding just the right caging system for small primates such as marmosets can be difficult. But here at Otto Environmental we’ve re-invented the Marmoset Cage and turned it into one feature-packed piece of equipment.

Sturdy and secure, it’s made of stainless steel tubing, panels, and screening, welded together and mounted on strong casters. The one over one configuration makes it easy to remove the barrier between top and bottom compartments and allow socialization.

And it’s made to go with many complimentary Otto Environmental products such as water bottles, food bowl and nesting box.

When we saw the difficulty some of our customers were having with the logistics of feeding large numbers of animals under their care, we worked with them to develop our Adjustable Feed Cart, handmade of durable stainless steel tubing. Four heavy-duty 5″ casters give it extreme mobility and its 18″ x 26″ footprint allow it to fit in some pretty tight spaces. Did we mention it is adjustable? From a maximum height of 36″ down to 22″ in one-inch increments, it will put less stress on your back at feeding time.

The Adjustable Feed Cart is made to hold a 21.5 gallon clear polycarbonate bin, with optional lid and filter, sold separately. The cart has been designed to conveniently hold the lid and filter when in use.

You can find all of these and more in the Otto Environmental online store:

In today’s technological world we usually think of an end user as someone with a mouse in hand, but here at Otto Environmental we think of the mouse as the end user… and the tiger… and the horse… and the kangaroo… and the ferret… and, well, you get it!

Check out our online store for more animal enrichment items to make your end user happy!